Two Major Concerns: Self-Cultivation and Managerial Skills
Two major concerns occupy the writings of Warring States Laoists and also Confucians.
One concern might be called the development of “leadership skills,” skills in people-management. Today I think this is relevant to parents, teachers, and everyone in a position of authority over others.
The other major concern is what Confucians call “self-cultivation.”
Self-cultivation is a kind of long-term, self-administered character-formation. Self-cultivation involves first forming some personal ideals for oneself, then making daily efforts to gradually shape one’s personality so as to internalize these ideals and make them “second nature.” For example, moral uprightness was one of the main ideals that early Confucians tried to cultivate in themselves. A famous saying of Confucius starts by saying that he began self-cultivation at age fifteen, and ends by saying “At age seventy, I could follow my heart’s desire without crossing the line.” He had so internalized an ideal of moral uprightness that it became second nature to him, so that it informed his spontaneous desires, and he no longer had to think about rightness and make himself follow rules of rightness.
In both Confucianism and Laoism, self-cultivation was an essential element in preparing oneself to be a good people-manager. “Rule by Te, not by laws and punishments” is one early Confucian saying. “Te” refers to one’s internal good qualities or “virtues.” But it also refers to the subtle but powerful way an outstanding individual’s virtues influence others by his very presence, the “charisma”, “vibes” or “energy” that other’s feel in his presence. The main way that the ideal Confucian and Laoist people-manager manages people consists in the way that he “sets a tone” for the individuals or group in his charge. One Daodejing passage, for example, says that “The best manager of people puts himself below them. This is the Te of being non-competitive.” A “competitive” manager, a person who looks on his high status as a personal achievement, winning in a competition with others, will send out competitive vibes, which will make others under him competitive also, making them uncooperative because they are striving to win out in competition with this manager. A good Laoist manager tries to diminish or eliminate “competitive” impulses in his character, and this sets a tone for the group in his charge, influencing them to be non-competitive also. So he wins the willing cooperation of his subordinates by this subtle influence of his Te/vibes, rather than on imposing rules and enforcing them by punishments.
Viewing self-cultivation as the main way a person prepares for leadership is something that early Confucians and Laoists have in common. Where they differ is in the specific character of the ideals that they cultivate and try to make second nature. Mencius (Mengzi), a Confucian teacher roughly contemporary with the authors of the Daodejing, holds up three main ideals, jen/kindness, i/uprightness, and li/politeness, as the main virtues a good Confucian should cultivate. These Confucian terms figure in the Daodejing as objects of criticism (in 11[38], 18, 19). Laoists look on Confucian cultivation of these virtues as a sham and artificial substitute for people’s more “natural” good qualities, imposed on one’s being by deliberate “working.”
But remarks about Laoist ideals of “naturalness” made in another essay are pertinent here as well. Modern ideals of naturalness usually involve leaving things alone without any human intervention or control. As explained in another essay ”Nature” as Part of Human Culture in Daoism, Laoist (and later Taoist) ideals of naturalness are exemplified by the deliberate efforts of Taoist monks to make subtle changes in the woods around their monastery to enhance their “natural” beauty. As in the case of the astoundingly beautiful bell-stand carved by Woodcarver Ching (described in the essay just referred to) it involves careful appreciative understanding of, and steeping oneself in, “natural” kinds of beauty, but then consciously working to create something containing an even higher degree of this natural beauty.
These examples are good analogies for understanding Laoist ideals when it comes to self-cultivation. Laoists are very critical of trying to wrestle with one’s own “natural” tendencies to try to force one’s being to conform to some model derived from sources external to these tendencies. Just as a good Laoist parent would try to understand what “comes naturally” to her child, and try to “bring out the best” in this unique child, so a good Laoist must make great efforts to understand her own unique “nature,” but then must also actively engage in self-cultivation to bring out what this nature would be at its very best.
I think the ideal toward which Laoist self-cultivation is striving is best represented in English phrase “organic harmony.” “Organic” here means something like “natural” – based on spontaneous tendencies naturally occurring within a person’s being. But some naturally occurring tendencies are obstacles to internal harmony, so “organic harmony” refers only to those spontaneous tendencies that are conducive to internal harmony. All living beings have a spontaneous tendency to develop themselves toward becoming a balanced and integrated whole. (Trees, for example, tend to naturally develop underground root-systems suited to provide for the needs of the trunk, branches, and leaves occurring above ground.) Laoist self-cultivation aims at enhancing her own being’s tendencies to develop in this balanced and harmonious way.
What is most explicitly emphasized in the Daodejing is Laoist opposition to those forces and tendencies that interfere with natural tendencies toward organic harmony in a person’s being. What we call “social pressure” is one such force. Every society has certain standards and ideals determining what deserves recognition and respect. Most individuals have what Laoists call “competitive” tendencies, striving to gain recognition and respect in society. We already saw how such competitive tendencies interfere with Laoist leadership goals. But competitiveness also interferes with Laoist goals when it comes to self-cultivation. This is because the desire for recognition and the admiration of others skews a person’s development, making them value in themselves what is most valued in their social group, and ignore or suppress in themselves what brings no recognition, or is positively looked down in society. For example, a student told me that in middle school he liked gymnastics and became good at it. But most others in his school thought that gymnastics was a girl’s sport, and so they made fun of him, and he gave it up. He tried to measure up more to common standards of what are good qualities characterizing “a real man.”
Social pressure coupled with basic competitiveness can prevent a person from “being himself,” being his “natural” self.
But, first, Laoism does not stop a blaming society and social pressure, which an individual can do little about, and which is unlikely to change. It focuses on what a person can do something about, which is her own desire to be one of those who fit in well and excel in what wins admiration from the surrounding society – what Laoists call the desire to “compete.” Competing is not morally bad. The problem is rather that there are many things which “come naturally” to an individual and are also valuable and good grounds for self-confidence when considered by themselves, but which seem like “nothing” or even detrimental to a person’s standing if they are different from what brings admiration from the surrounding society. This causes a person then to disregard or positively repress such aspects of her being. It robs her of the self-confidence she might otherwise have in her own more “natural” self, and causes her to strain to live up to ideals that do not come so naturally to her.
A saying in Peter Maurin’s book Easy Essays puts this point well: ”Everybody is trying to become somebody by being like everybody who makes them a nobody.”
Sometimes social pressure makes a person feel like a “nobody” if this person tries to “be herself.” Feeling like a nobody is very unpleasant, so a common reaction is to try to fit in and “be somebody” by becoming the kind of person who gets attention, recognition and admiration from society – becoming like those people who made her feel like a nobody. From a Laoist point of view, the main problem with this is that it interferes with more “natural” organic harmony toward which her being would tend if not skewed by this desire to “be somebody” in society.
But, secondly, it is obvious that “being competitive” is also in most people a very “natural” tendency. This again marks the difference between modern ideas of “naturalness” and the Laoist ideal, better described as “organic harmony.” It is natural for a person to desire recognition and admiration from others, but this natural desire is one of the main obstacles to balanced development of a person’s total being into a harmonious whole.
Laoist self-cultivation is aimed at cultivating organic harmony in a person’s own being. This requires careful self-understanding, attention to the unique package of natural impulses, instincts, talents, likes/dislikes, etc. that make up one’s own unique being. A person’s own being also has tendencies toward balanced integration of all these factors into a harmonious whole. But it also has tendencies such as competitiveness that interfere with harmonious internal development, letting external forces lead a person to repress socially “undesirable” qualities, and give socially valued qualities a much more prominent place in one’s self-image than these would have if one’s own being were allowed to develop along more “natural” lines. Self-cultivation requires active efforts to work with natural tendencies toward organic harmony, and work against equally natural tendencies that interfere with balanced and harmonious internal development. To paraphrase one line in the Daodejing (73[64]): A person must actively “help along his naturalness.”
Here it will be helpful to give a few more modern examples illustrating obstacles to Laoist organic harmony, and what it might mean to cultivate internal organic harmony in opposition to these tendencies.
One basic idea here could be put in terms of the contrast between self-rejection and self-acceptance or full self-identification. Here are some examples of what can cause self-rejection:
- Being someone from a race or nationality different from most people in the country where one is living. This can cause a person to be embarrassed about the color of her skin, what her hair looks like, how she talks, and so on. She might wish she were less “different” and more like most people around her. This would prevent her from full self-identification. Full self-identification is a necessary first step toward cultivating organic harmony.
- Being a gay person in a mostly straight community, which can cause a certain kind of self-rejection, guilt, self-rejection, even self-hatred and suicidal tendencies. (Of course, full self-identification does not necessarily mean approving of all one’s “natural” tendencies. An individual must sometimes make a judgement about which “natural” qualities she approves of and wants to develop, and which she accepts as part of her being but does not want to act on.)
- Letting parental pressure or desire for wealth drive one into a profession which brings no satisfaction of the kind that makes life feel meaningful. Such a person has difficulty getting out of bed in the morning.
- A woman reading fashion magazines and wishing she could be like the models she sees there, even though she has no hope of ever looking like them.
- More generally, ask: What are people often embarrassed about, but should not be? (For example, stuttering, or other speech-defects.) How can a desire to measure up to social standards generate low self-esteem and undermine self-confidence?
One way of describing a fully self-identified person is to say that she is “comfortable in her own skin.” She has a kind of self-confidence that comes from fully recognizing and fully accepting the unique being that she is.
Another phenomenon relevant here is cases where a person’s desire to excel in some particular field of human endeavor causes them to suffer from neglect of other aspects of life. As for example a young girl’s desire to win in the Olympics gymnastic competition, might cause her to suffer from neglect of other important aspects of life and development, such as normal social relationships with others.
In general, the desire to “specialize” can skew a person’s development and interfere with organic harmony if it allows efforts to develop this particular specialty to interfere with harmony and balance.
Finally, for some people it might be natural to go through cycles of
- high-energy and low-energy,
- feeling “up” and feeling “down,”
- feeling excited and happy and feeling depressed,
- feeling very competent and very “together,” and “coming apart, feeling very “un-together.”
In these cases, it might be important to accept these cycles, and not become too attached to feeling “up” “together” and competent.
Since each person has a unique “nature,” it is impossible to decide ahead of time what it would mean for any given individual to cultivate organic harmony in her own being. The Daodejing offers two suggestions as to how an individual might tell whether she is making progress toward this ideal.
– Organic harmony is homeostatic. It takes conscious efforts to attain it. But once attained, it tends to be self-maintaining. This can be contrasted with the case in which a person has to constantly strain and apply will power to make herself live up to ideals that will never feel like they “come naturally.” Such straining is what Laoists mean by “working,” determining the specialized meaning this term has in Laoist vocabulary. (This can be compared to a low-maintenance garden. It takes a lot of conscious planning and work to create such a garden. But once it is in place, it doesn’t take a lot of work to maintain it, because plants have been placed in a location already well suited to their needs for sun, water, etc.)
- Organic harmony is very satisfying to its possessor. The Daodejing contrasts this with the case in which an individual is straining against her own individual nature in her efforts to impress other people. Success in winning recognition from others brings a certain kind of satisfaction, but this is very different from finding satisfaction in one’s own being. This deep satisfaction in one’s own cultivated “nature” is what Laoists mean by the “usefulness” of organic harmony. This is also what is designated in one passage as “the nourishing Mother” – meaning that a person can find “nourishment” in her own being if it has attained a high degree of organic harmony.
It is important in all this to remember that Laoists also believed in being very socially ambitious. Unlike some later Taoists, and some Taoists in the Zhuangzi, they did not let the desire to “be yourself” or “be natural” cause them to be non-conformists, rejecting human society to become social drop-outs. They aspired to gain high people-managing positions in their society, and to serve as advisors to leaders at the very top of the Chinese political structure. The key to understanding this combination is to realize that they did not believe in simply abandoning any striving for high ideals, just accepting their present being and “doing what comes naturally,” whatever that might mean. Laoist “Organic harmony” is itself a high ideal, and Laoists wanted to cultivate the most excellent kind of organic harmony in their being. A very high degree of organic harmony gives a person a certain kind of Te. He gives off a certain kind of subtle but powerful “vibe” that is very attractive to other people and will gain their highest admiration and respect, making him someone they really want to have as their leader/manager.
These comments also illustrate well another important point about the difference between Laoist ideals and some tendencies of modern Americans. That is, it is common today for individuals in the US to feel like they do not fit in well with society, and feel a contrast between socially accepted ideals and their own “true nature.” A common response is either to withdraw and “drop out,” or to actively dramatize one’s non-conformity by dressing differently, making a public show of what others regard as “deviant” behavior, etc. I think this is very different from the Laoist ideal, and their ambition to attain leadership positions in their society is an emphatic illustration of this. It is entirely unlikely that a person who flaunts his nonconformity can realistically hope to gain positions of authority and exercise that authority well. In addition, one has to consider that a chief goal of the Laoist leader is to promote organic harmony in society as well as in himself. Flaunting non-conformity hardly fits in well with this goal.
The main point of this is that the ideals described above do not constitute advice concerning one’s external behavior. They have to do with an individual’s own inner life, the basic attitudes she takes to her own being, and the effects that those attitudes have on her own inner development. It is much easier to exhibit non-conformist behavior than it is to resist the strong pressures toward personally internalizing society’s standards, and to actively remedy the effects of this internalization by full self-identification and cultivation of internal organic harmony.
Coming to questions about how to understand Laoist aphorisms on topics discussed above: The most important thing to realize is that they assume that social pressure is an immensely powerful force that has already shaped the mentality of each and every one of us. Our minds and values have already been distorted by this influence, consequently we have to realize that cultivating high-level organic harmony will require a reversal of values that can expected to be quite difficult for everyone. I have written above in a way that brings out the positive and attractive character of the Laoist ideal.
But the Laoist way of presenting their own ideal is very different. They emphasize the unattractiveness of this ideal to the minds of all of us whose minds and values have been shaped by strong forces directly contrary to the Laoist ideal of organic harmony. Because of these influences, it is necessary to value and embrace aspects of one’s being that are bound to feel undesirable, unattractive, “worthless.” And organic harmony itself, although very internally satisfying to an individual who has achieved it, is something that is not immediately attention-getting to others.
All this explains Laoist love of paradox when it comes to this topic. “Highest virtue does not appear virtuous” (11[38]) A good Laoist thinks that organic harmony is the highest virtue. But internal organic harmony does not make a strong impression on the general public the way that other virtues do, such as moral righteousness, courage, and so on. Consequently, the social environment being what it is, organic harmony is not something that will attract attention and admiration the way more showy virtues do, and so will not appear as something especially admirable at all. A good Laoist has to recognize that making organic harmony her highest priority requires going against her instinctive tendency to cultivate qualities that everyone recognizes and looks up to as especially admirable.
Or to give a somewhat free paraphrase of a line in 5[45] “What has most solid value will appear worthless.” What we tend to feel as of “solid” value tends to be determined by what gains most recognition and admiration in the surrounding society. I might have some quality that I would think as good and valuable considered on its own, deserving to be part of my best “nature.” But if this is a quality no one around me seems to value, this will make me tend also to regard it as worthless, or “nothing.” I will tend to ignore it, and skew my nature toward developing qualities that feel “solid” because they bring recognition and admiration from others. (Everybody is trying to become somebody by being like everybody who makes them a nobody.)
Here are some of the main passages relevant to these topics:
8[81]
Sincere words are not elegant, elegant words are not sincere
Excellence is not winning arguments, winning arguments is not being Excellent
Understanding is not wide learning, wide learning is not understanding.
The wise person does not store up for himself.
By working for others, he increases what he himself possesses
By giving to others, he gets increase for himself more and more.
Heavenly Tao: to benefit and not to harm
The Wise Person’s Tao: to work and not to compete.
The first line contrasts the person whose main concern is to impress other people, with a person who values qualities that are good in themselves but not as attention-getting – as for example sincere speech as opposed to eloquent speech, deep understanding as opposed to wide learning. #4 indicates that the composer of this chapter associates this valuing of eloquence and wide learning with “competition” for social status. Sections #2 and #3 contrast this self-centered competing with selfless service to others. This is similar to a point made in 11[38] by contrasting useful “fruit” with showy “flower.” Blossoms on a plant look more beautiful and are more attention-getting. Fruit lacks this attention-getting beauty, but is more useful to people.
Similar associations are evident in 7[8]
The highest excellence is like water.
Water, excellent in benefitting the thousands of things, does not compete
It settles in places everyone else despises and avoids.
Simply do not compete, and there will be no fault.
Competition for status is what drives “social climbers” to try to climb higher to the top of the social ladder. The opposite Laoist ideal is conveyed here by analogy with water. Water doesn’t strive upward, but is always going “lower,” which means that it often ends up in mud puddles and swamps “which everyone avoids.” But water’s habit of always going lower is what enables it to serve to nourish the plants that thrive in moist ground. This is an image of the ideal Laoist who is willing to give up competition for high social status, willing if necessary to occupy lower rungs on the social ladder. As in 8[81] above, a willingness to give up competing for social status is associated with a desire to be of service to society (as water’s “lowness” enables it to be of service to plants).
A similar point seems to be intended in an image in [75], which idealizes a person in charge of a state to “take on the state’s dirty-work.” People with high status are often unwilling to “lower” themselves to do “dirty work,” which might make them appear “weak.” But this is sometimes how they can perform best their role as manager of a society.
Many Laoist sayings on this topic can be seen as variations on the idea that appearances are deceiving. (“You can’t tell a book by its cover.”) This is especially relevant to Laoist thought in that they think striving to put on fine appearances to impress others, causes individuals to strain to achieve something that does not come naturally to them, and is thus an obstacle to full self-identification and the development of internal organic harmony.
It is not that Laoists do not want to become individuals deserving of respect and admiration of others – this after all is something essential to being a good people-manager. It is rather that they think that a very high degree of organic harmony has its own kind of attractiveness, giving a person a certain kind of more subtle but still powerful “charisma” (Te).
The greatest uprightness will seem compromised
The greatest ability will seem clumsy
The greatest eloquence will seem tongue-tied
It is helpful here to try to see what human tendencies these sayings mean to correct. Public opinion of someone tends to be governed by rather simplistic impressions of what stands out. For example, a politician will appear to represent righteousness if he can be observed to hold consistently to a single set of convictions. Changing his mind on some issue might be easily regarded as a sign of moral “compromise,” even though willingness to change one’s mind might be a sign of a greater concern for rightness than for one’s reputation. This is especially relevant in the light of Laoist emphasis on uncertainty in the face of shifting circumstances. An ever-shifting world makes it necessary to shift one’s judgments in accord with shifting circumstances, rather than adhere to a rigid consistency that people generally associate with moral uprightness.
Individuals whose main aim is to impress people will strive for impressively eloquent speech. But as we saw above, Laoist contrast striving for impressive eloquence with being “sincere” in one’s speech. A sincere person might struggle for words (might appear “tongue-tied”), but Laoists rely on such sincerity to come through to others and be more persuasive than a show of eloquence.
4[22]
Compromised — and so upright,
Empty – and so solid,
He does not show off, so he shines
He does not promote himself so he becomes famous
He does not boast of himself, so he gets the credit
He just does not compete, and so no one can compete with him
The meaning of “compromised, and so upright,” can be clarified in the light of the saying treated above, “the greatest uprightness will see compromised.” Similarly, the meaning of the second line – “Empty, and so solid,” can be clarified in the light of a saying also occurring in 5[45]: “The highest solidity will seem empty.” We should understand this line in the light of ideas described above: People’s sense of what is of “solid” worth is generally determined by what is recognized and admired by society at large. The word Laoists use for “empty” also means “worthless.” It refers to things that are likely to feel worthless because they do not attract attention and admiration. In Laoist thought, organic harmony is what is most solid because it is based on the way things naturally occur in the absence of social competition. But (a) achieving organic harmony requires identifying with and developing aspects of one’s being that might appear empty/worthless in the social world. And (b) organic harmony in a person’s being is not something that attracts attention the way that individual virtues do. It can only be felt as something very subtle and intangible. One of its main benefits is the way it brings great inner satisfaction to the possessor herself. This is what Laoists mean by its “usefulness,” as in “The greatest solidity will seem Empty, but its usefulness is inexhaustible.” (Recall the contrast between flower and fruit in 11[38]: Flowers are more attention-getting, but do not provide the nourishment that the less beautiful fruit provides.)
These associations explain the connection between different sections of chapter 4[22] quoted above. Being willing to appear “Empty,” is associated with “not showing off,” and also again with “not competing” i.e. not competing for admiration and status in society. It is of course ridiculous to think that merely “not showing off” will make a person shine, or that merely “not competing” will allow one to win out in social competition. We need to understand these negative expressions in connection with the organic harmony that is the positive goal which can only be achieved by refraining from such competition, but which has its own subtle attractiveness.
Subtlety seems the main point also of the following lines of 44[41]
What is pure and natural seems faded
the best square has no corners
Great music has a delicate sound
Subtlety is obviously the point of the last line here, “Great music has a delicate sound,” (by contrast with music that is very dramatic, loud, pulsing). “Pure and natural that seems faded” is perhaps exemplified by woven fabrics using subdued coloring of natural materials, in contrast to fabrics full of striking colors. “The best square has no corners” probably refers to a drawing of a square where the four lines do not quite meet at the corners, so that the corners are “empty” and suggested rather than overtly drawn in.
Similar ideas are suggested in the picture of “the excellent shih of ancient times” in 6[15]
The appearance of their powerful presence:
Cautious, like one crossing a stream in winter
Timid, like one who fears the surrounding neighbors
Reserved, like guests
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
This passage is obviously paradoxical, since the characteristics (“cautious,” “timid” etc.) are the opposite of what one would normally think of as a “powerful presence.” As in all paradoxical sayings, it is important to imagine what opposite view this saying is meant to oppose. People generally associate “power” with a powerful appearance (Rambo comes to mind). This passage is probably intended as somewhat exaggerated contrast with this common association. Organic harmony in a person’s being can be strongly felt by others and exert strong influence on them, but its power and influence (its Te) will be more subtle, showing through in appearances that are the opposite of what people commonly associate with strength (timid, cautious, fearful, etc.)
This passage is immediately followed by a line “Whoever holds onto this Tao does not yearn for solidity.” This is an important line showing the meaning that the term “solidity” has in Laoist thought. “Timid,” “cautious,” and “yielding” figure here as the opposite of “solid.” Such men lack a “solid”-feeling presence. Their “weak” appearance can also be described as the opposite of “solid,” i.e. “Empty.”
These associations are important for understanding “empty,” “nothing,” and “non-being”
15[11]
Thirty spokes unite in one hollow hub. In this “nothing” lies the wheels’ usefulness.
Knead clay to make a jar. In its “nothing” likes the jar’s usefulness.
Cut out doors and windows to make a house. In their “nothing” lies the house’s usefulness.
“Being” makes for profit. “Nothing” makes for usefulness.
31[4] Tao being Empty, one who embodies it will lack solidity.
34[40]
Turning back is Tao movement, being Weak is Tao practice
Being is born of nothing.
Achieving organic harmony requires embracing in oneself those things that are of solid worth
“Empty” in Laoism is the opposite of “solid.”
+++++++
11[38]
The finest Te is not Te-like, so it is Te.
The poorest Te never leaves off being Te-like, so it is not Te.
The finest Te: no working at it, no goal in mind.
The poorest Te: people work at it, with a goal in mind.
The finest Goodness: People work at it, but with no goal in mind.
The finest Morality: People work at it, with a goal in mind.
The finest Etiquette: People work at it.
And when none pay attention, they roll up their sleeves and go on the attack.
Etiquette is loyalty and sincerity spread thin.
And so the great man:
Resides with the substance, not with what is thin.
Resides with the fruit, not with the flower.
Criticism of Confucian self-cultivation
Part of 11[38]
Losing Tao, next comes Goodness
Losing Goodness, next comes Morality
Losing Morality, next comes Etiquette.
12[18]
When Great Tao vanished, we got “Goodness and Morality”
When Wisdom and Know-how arose, we got the Great Shams
When family relationships fell into disharmony, we got “Respect and Caring”
When the states and clans became all benighted and disordered,
we got “Loyal Subjects”
13[20]
Break with Learning, and there will be no trouble.
“Yeah” and “Yes sir” – is there a big difference between them?
Excellent and despicable – what’s the real difference between them?
[Confucians say:] “What others hold in respect, we cannot fail to respect”
Craziness. Aren’t we over this yet?
25[48]
[Confucians say:] “Work at Learning, profit every day”
Work at Tao, suffer a loss everyday
Lose, then lose some more — Arrive at not Working at all.
+++++++++++++++
44[41]
When the best shih hears Tao, he puts out great effort to practice it.
When the average shih hears Tao,
he will keep to it sometimes, and sometimes forget about it
When the poorest shih hears Tao, he just has a big laugh.
If he does not laugh, it must not really be Tao.
Bright Tao seems dark,
Tao progressing forward seems to be going backward
Smooth Tao seems rough.
The loftiest Te seems like a valley,
Great purity seems sullied,
Abundant Te seems insufficient.
Well-founded Te seems flimsy
What is pure and natural seems faded
the best square has no corners.
A great bronze takes long to finish
Great music has a delicate sound
The Great Image has no shape.
Tao is something concealed and nameless,
Good at sustaining a person and completing him.
6[15]
The excellent shih of ancient times penetrated into the most obscure,
the marvelous, the mysterious.
They had a depth beyond understanding.
They were simply beyond understanding
The appearance of their powerful presence:
Cautious, like one crossing a stream in winter
Timid, like one who fears the surrounding neighbors
Reserved, like guests
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Unspecified, like the Uncarved
All vacant space, like a Valley
Everything mixed together, like muddy water.
Whoever holds onto this Tao does not yearn for solidity.
He simply lacks solidity, and so what he is capable of:
Remaining concealed, accomplishing nothing new.
15[11]
Thirty spokes unite in one hollow hub. In this “nothing” lies the wheels’ usefulness.
Knead clay to make a jar. In its “nothing” likes the jar’s usefulness.
Cut out doors and windows to make a house. In their “nothing” lies the house’s usefulness.
“Being” makes for profit. “Nothing” makes for usefulness.
31[4] Tao being Empty, one who embodies it will lack solidity.
34[40]
Turning back is Tao movement, being Weak is Tao practice
Being is born of nothing.
“Elegant” words, the ability to win arguments, and wide learning represent things that are likely to impress other people, and invite ‘showing off.” This saying contrasts these attention-getting abilities with qualities that are good but by themselves not so attention getting: a sincere way of speaking,
.
Contrast qualities that impress others with qualities that appear “useless,” “nothing,” (empty) embarrassing.
1[24]
A person on tiptoe is not firmly planted
A person in a rush will not go far
One who shows off will not shine
One who promotes himself will not become famous
One who boasts of himself will get no credit
One who glorifies himself will not become leader.
This is called “stuffing oneself, overdoing it”
Things seem to detest this,
So the ambitious man does not dwell here.
3[67]
Everyone in the world says of me: ‘Great, but doesn’t seem normal.”
It’s just “greatness” – that’s why it doesn’t seem normal.
If I were normal, I’d have been of little worth for a long time now.
I have three treasures, I protect and keep hold of them
First, gentleness. Second, frugality. Third, not presuming to act like leader of the world.
Gentle so able to be bold, frugal, so able to be lavish
Not presuming to act like leader of the world, so able to be head of the government
To be bold without being gentle, lavish without being frugal
To act like leader without putting oneself last
This is death.
Yes, gentleness:
Attack with it and you will win, defend with it and you will stand firm.
4[22]
“Bent – then mature
Compromised — then upright, Empty – then solid,
Old and spent – then young and sprightly
He does not show off, so he shines
He does not promote himself so he becomes famous
He does not boast of himself, so he gets the credit
He does not glorify himself, so he becomes leader
He just does not compete, and so no one can compete with him
5[45]
The greatest perfection will seem lacking in something
But its usefulness never ends.
The greatest solidity will seem Empty, but its usefulness is inexhaustible.
The greatest uprightness will seem compromised
The greatest ability will seem clumsy
The greatest eloquence will seem tongue-tied
6[15]
The excellent shih of ancient times penetrated into the most obscure,
the marvelous, the mysterious.
They had a depth beyond understanding.
They were simply beyond understanding
The appearance of their powerful presence:
Cautious, like one crossing a stream in winter
Timid, like one who fears the surrounding neighbors
Reserved, like guests
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Unspecified, like the Uncarved
All vacant space, like a Valley
Everything mixed together, like muddy water.
Whoever holds onto this Tao does not yearn for solidity.
He simply lacks solidity, and so what he is capable of:
Remaining concealed, accomplishing nothing new.
7[8]
The highest excellence is like water.
Water, excellent in benefitting the thousands of things, does not compete
It settles in places everyone else despises and avoids.
Simply do not compete, and there will be no fault.
8[81]
Sincere words are not elegant, elegant words are not sincere
Excellence is not winning arguments, winning arguments is not being Excellent
Understanding is not wide learning, wide learning is not understanding.
The wise person does not store up for himself.
By working for others, he increases what he himself possesses
By giving to others, he gets increase for himself more and more.
Heavenly Tao: to benefit and not to harm
The Wise Person’s Tao: to work and not to compete.
10[7]
Heaven is lasting, earth endures.
What enables Heaven and Earth to last and endure?
Because they do not live for themselves, so it is they can live long.
And so the Wise Person:
Puts himself last, and so finds himself in front
Puts himself in the out-group, and so maintains his place.
The personal does not exist for him.
Isn’t this how he can perfect what for him is most personal?
11[38]
The finest Te is not Te-like, so it is Te.
The poorest Te never leaves off being Te-like, so it is not Te.
The finest Te: no working at it, no goal in mind.
The poorest Te: people work at it, with a goal in mind.
The finest Goodness: People work at it, but with no goal in mind.
The finest Morality: People work at it, with a goal in mind.
The finest Etiquette: People work at it. And when none pay attention, they roll up their sleeves and go on the attack.
Etiquette is loyalty and sincerity spread thin.
And so the great man:
Resides with the substance, not with what is thin.
Resides with the fruit, not with the flower.
Criticism of Confucian self-cultivation
Part of 11[38]
Losing Tao, next comes Goodness
Losing Goodness, next comes Morality
Losing Morality, next comes Etiquette.
12[18]
When Great Tao vanished, we got “Goodness and Morality”
When Wisdom and Know-how arose, we got the Great Shams
When family relationships fell into disharmony, we got “Respect and Caring”
When the states and clans became all benighted and disordered,
we got “Loyal Subjects”
13[20]
Break with Learning, and there will be no trouble.
“Yeah” and “Yes sir” – is there a big difference between them?
Excellent and despicable – what’s the real difference between them?
[Confucians say:] “What others hold in respect, we cannot fail to respect”
Craziness. Aren’t we over this yet?
25[48]
[Confucians say:] “Work at Learning, profit every day”
Work at Tao, suffer a loss everyday
Lose, then lose some more — Arrive at not Working at all.
13[20]
“All the others are beaming and beaming, like people enjoying a great ceremonial feast,
Like people climbing an overlook tower in the spring.
I am alone still – no indications yet, like an infant who has not yet even smiled.
So sad, like someone with no place to go home to.
All the others have a superabundance, I alone seem to have missed out
Oh my simpleton’s mind! So confused.
Ordinary men are so bright, I alone am so dull.
Ordinary men are so sharp, I alone am so stupid.
Churned up like the ocean
Blown about, like someone with no place to rest
All others have their function.
I alone am thick-headed, like someone from the back-country.
I am alone, different from others, treasuring the nourishing Mother.
3[67]
People describe me as “Great, but doesn’t seem normal.”
It’s just “greatness” – that’s why it doesn’t seem normal.
If I were normal, I’d have been of little worth for a long time now.
14[23]
One devoted to Tao is a Tao-man, merges with Tao
Is a Te-man, merges with Te.
Is a man left out, merges with what is left out.
15[11]
Thirty spokes unite in one hollow hub. In this “nothing” lies the wheels’ usefulness.
Knead clay to make a jar. In its “nothing” likes the jar’s usefulness.
Cut out doors and windows to make a house. In their “nothing” lies the house’s usefulness.
“Being” makes for profit. “Nothing” makes for usefulness.
31[4] Tao being Empty, one who embodies it will lack solidity.
34[40]
Turning back is Tao movement, being Weak is Tao practice
Being is born of nothing.
17[28]
Be familiar with Masculinity, but cultivate Femininity,
Turn back to being infant-like.
Be familiar with what is pure and white, but cultivate what is dark and black
Turn back to being limitless.
Be familiar with what is praiseworthy, but cultivate what is embarrassing
Turn back to being Uncarved.
When what is Uncarved is cut up, this lessens its worth
When the Wise Person embodies it, he becomes the highest.
A great carver does no cutting.
35[39]
He doesn’t wish to glitter and glitter like jade, but falls and falls like a stone.
44[41]
When the best shih hears Tao, he puts out great effort to practice it.
When the average shih hears Tao,
he will keep to it sometimes, and sometimes forget about it
When the poorest shih hears Tao, he just has a big laugh.
If he does not laugh, it must not really be Tao.
Bright Tao seems dark, Tao progressing forward seems to be going backward,
Smooth Tao seems rough.
The loftiest Te seems like a valley,
Great purity seems sullied,
Abundant Te seems insufficient.
Well-founded Te seems flimsy
What is pure and natural seems faded
the best square has no corners.
A great bronze takes long to finish
Great music has a delicate sound
The Great Image has no shape.
Tao is something concealed and nameless,
Good at sustaining a person and completing him.
45[70]
The Wise Person: Dressed in shabby clothes, jade under his shirt.
46[35]
Grasp the Great Image and the world will come, come and not be harmed
A great peace and evenness.
For music and pastry, passing strangers stop.
Tao flowing from the lips – Flat. No taste to it.
Look for it, you will not be satisfied looking.
Listen for it, you will not be satisfied listening.
Put it into practice, you will not be satisfied stopping.
47[43]
The Softest thing in the world, defeats the Hardest things in the world
What-has-no-Being enters what leaves no opening.
This makes me realize the advantage of Not-Doing.
Teaching done by not talking, advantages gained by Not-Doing
Few things in the world can match this.
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